Director of 'Shrek' quits before Prescott Park show opening

Thursday

Jun 26, 2014 at 3:49 PMJun 26, 2014 at 3:58 PM

PORTSMOUTH — Billy Butler, who had been the director of "Shrek The Musical" at the Prescott Park Arts Festival, abruptly quit on Sunday, five days before the opening of the season's show, organizers say.

Jeff McMenemy

PORTSMOUTH — Billy Butler, who had been the director of "Shrek The Musical" at the Prescott Park Arts Festival, abruptly quit Sunday, five days before the opening of the season, according to festival organizers.

Ben Anderson, executive director of the Prescott Park Arts Festival, confirmed Thursday that Butler, who has directed other musicals for the festival, left after becoming "frustrated."

"These things just happen," Anderson said during an interview Thursday. "It's a big show and there's a lot of moving pieces."

Anderson said that in his tenure, he's never lost a director this close to the opening of a season.

"It was really disappointing. It's heartbreaking, really. Billy put a lot of work into the show, as did the cast and crew," Anderson said about Butler's decision to leave. "It kind of broke my heart. He's incredibly talented and it's reflected on the stage."

But Anderson assured fans and supporters of the arts festival that the show will go on tonight and people will be dazzled by what they see.

"The cast is focused on this show," Anderson said. "It is such a great show. They blow me away every night at rehearsal."

Butler, when reached initially by e-mail Thursday afternoon, said he didn't quit, but failed to offer any other details.

Anderson said that when Butler quit Sunday, he had a couple of the show's choreographers "step up and fill the role for this final bit to get things to the opening."

Dealing with things like Butler's departure or sick actors is part of putting on a musical several nights a week, Anderson said.

"I'm putting out fires left and right to make sure everything goes smoothly," Anderson said. "This kind of thing, it's why you have understudies for plays."

Anderson added, "These things happen all the time. It's kind of what we do behind the scenes."

Anderson, along with the cast and crew of "Shrek The Musical," have received significant support from other members of Portsmouth's extensive arts community since word of Butler's departure started to spread.

"It really speaks to the community and the artists that we have here," Anderson said. "It's all one community that's so tightly woven together. I haven't had the chance to reach out to people and people were funneling into the park to see if we could use any help."

Bill Duncan, vice president of the festival's board of directors, said dealing with things like Butler's departure is just part of the business.

"It's 25 times a day there's a crisis of some kind putting on a festival like this," Duncan said.

But he stressed that Anderson solved the problem quickly and he looks forward to a great season at the festival.

"As a board member, I'm thrilled with the season and the fact that one issue after another, many of them much tougher than this one, get solved," Duncan said. "You'll see the results in the show. This show is in great shape."

Butler was in the news a year ago when New York attorney/producer Eric Goldman filed suit against Butler and the other co-author of the musical "Gay Bride of Frankenstein."

Butler and Dane Leeman were sued by Goldman, who alleges they breached their contract for commercial development of the play in New York.

In a suit filed with New York's Supreme Court, Goldman seeks $38,500 in damages and enforcement of the last year of a three-year contract, while describing Butler as "unprofessional" and prone to "temper tantrums."

Butler said at the time that Goldman missed a May 17 deadline to pay for the third year of the contract, so he and Leeman decided to seek other options.

During an interview Thursday, Goldman said his lawsuit against Butler was ongoing.

"The court has put the trial on hold to give Billy time to start an arbitration, which he said he wanted to do, but Billy has yet to start it," Goldman said.

The attorney said he was not surprised to hear about Butler's abrupt departure from "Shrek The Musical."

"We worked together for two years and there were issues from Day 1," Goldman said.

For Anderson's part, he was looking forward to Thursday's dress rehearsal and Friday night's opening show.

City inspectors visited the new pavilion building on Thursday at Prescott Park, and Anderson hoped it would be open today so festival employees could use the kitchen.

"If it's not, we'll have vendors to offer food and it will be well worth the wait," Anderson said about the new pavilion.

Either way, he expects a big first-night crowd for "Shrek the Musical."

"The buzz going around about this show has been exceptional," Anderson said. "And the weather is supposed to be great."

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